Browsing by Author "Sakeer Husain, A."

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    Scientific rationality and evaluative perception on indigenous plant protection practices on coconut (Cocos nucifera L.)
    (2011) Sakeer Husain, A.; Sundaramari, M.
    This study documented 116 Indigenous Plant Protection Practices (IPPPs) on coconut in Kerala where in more practices were registered in the technology dimension of 'control of rhinoceros beetle' (23.28 %), followed by general plant protection measures (11.21 %) and control techniques of termites (10.34 %). Of the practices, 75 % belonged to pest management practices, while only 25 % were related to disease management. Out of the 116 practices, 47 were selected for further analysis. Of these 47 practices, 39 practices (82.98 %) were found rational; the underlying scientific rationales/operational principles were also analysed in the study, which revealed the strong scientific base of these practices. However, only nine practices out of the 47 practices were known to more than 50 % of the farmers, reflecting the low level of knowledge of farmers on IPPPs on coconut. Similar was the situation, in the case of adoption. Further, out of the 47 selected practices, eight practices were analysed for their perceived effectiveness and found that six practices (75 %) were found rational and effective. Unraveling the indigenous technical knowledge should therefore be a research priority which in turn would enrich our agricultural technology.
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    Scientific rationality and perceived effectiveness of indigenous technical knowledge on coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) cultivation in Kerala
    (2011-12) Sakeer Husain, A.; Sundaramari, M.
    We documented 129 traditional practices (indigenous technical knowledge, ITK) on coconut cultivation in Kerala. Aspects such as collection and storage of seed nuts (20.15%), cultural operations (14.73%), manuring (13.95%) and nursery management (13.18%) constituted the dominant categories of indigenous knowledge. Of the 129 practices, 30 were analyzed for their scientific rationality and awareness and adoption among fanners and 19 practices studied for their perceived effectiveness. Of the 30 practices, 24 were found to be rational, while the rest six were adjudged as irrational. The scientific rationale/operational principles behind 24 rational ITK were also elucidated in this study. Farmers' knowledge on a mo,jority of selected ITK was good with more than 50% of the sampled farmers (52.50 to 92.50% per practice) having awareness on 20 practices. Twelve practices were adopted by 57.5 to 82.5% fanners. Oflhe 19 ITK studied for effectiveness, 17 were perceived as effective by the farmers, implying that many indigenous practices were both rational as well as effective. This calls for more scientific intervention to validate the indigenous knowledge, which in turn would enrich our agricultural technology.